NBCUniversal renews South Africa's Celebrity Game Night for season 4 on E! Africa with Anele Mdoda, Ayanda Thabethe and Jason Goliath returning.

by Thinus Ferreira

NBCUniversal International Networks has renewed its South African version of celebrity game show Celebrity Game Night produced by Rapid Blue and shown on E! (DStv 124) for a 10-episode fourth season that will premiere in 2023 and with production set to start in September.

Multi-hyphenate producer-presenter Anele Mdoda returns, together with team captains Ayanda Thabethe and Jason Goliath.

In the fourth season which will once again be filmed in Johannesburg, an array of South African celebrities will once compete in a string of party games that will test their pop culture knowledge, physical skills and acting mettle.

Lee Raftery, managing director for the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region for NBCUniversal International Networks & direct-to-consumer, says "We're delighted to bring a brand-new season of our award-winning original production Celebrity Game Night, which has just been nominated for its second SAFTA, to E! Africa".

"Expect big celebrities, bigger games and most importantly the biggest laughs yet!"

The Hollywood Game Night format is distributed globally by NBCUniversal Formats, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The original NBC version of the series was created by actor-producer Sean Hayes and producer Todd Milliner and has since been adapted locally in Greece, French Canada, Spain, Iceland, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Hold My Balls and Four Letter Words as hilarious new game show, Celebrity Game Night, kicks off on E! with Anele Mdoda as host.

It's fun and games galore on Monday nights from Monday 28 October at 20:00 on E! (DStv 124) with Anele Mdoda holding sway as the host of the perfectly-adapted format game show, Celebrity Game Night.

Celebrity Game Night produced by Rapid Blue and done for NBCUniversal International Networks's E! channel, the crisp and hilarious South African version is filled with real South African celebrities, competing in two teams and playing a variety of games that make the viewer feel instantly at home and as if you've just stepped into the living room on a Saturday on Sunday late afternoon while a group of friends got a board game out.

In each episode, two teams of celebrity guests face-off as they play hilarious and outrageous party games that test pop culture knowledge, acting skills and nerves of steel with Jason Goliath and Ayanda Thabethe as the two team leaders.

"I’m so excited to host Celebrity Game Night on E! and can’t wait for viewers to join the party," said Anele Mdoda. "Hanging out with Jason, Ayanda and our top celebrity guests on my sofas is going to be hilariously wild. Let the games begin."

Jason Goliath has a warning to viewers: "This isn't a typical game show. Joining Celebrity Game Night as a team captain and trying to wrangle a crowd of stars with Anele and Ayanda is epically entertaining".

Ayanda Thabethe said "Celebrity Game Night is going to be the hottest A-list ticket in town. If you've ever wondered how the rich and famous let their hair down and have a good time, this is the show. It's going to be so much fun I don’t think it will feel like work".

The first episode's celebrities include Joey Rasdien, Chris Jaftha and Minnie Dlamini Jones who are part of Team Ayanda; as well as Majozi, Lorna Maseko and Tracey Lange who are part of Team Jason.

Hilarious games in the debut episode include Hold My Balls, Get with the Programme, Where You Going?, Clue Boom and Four Letter Words. The various games differ from episode to episode.


ALSO READ: E!'s Celebrity Game Night game show starts filming this week with Anele Mdoda as presenter; Jason Goliath and Ayanda Thabethe as team captains.

E!'s Celebrity Game Night game show starts filming this week with Anele Mdoda as presenter; Jason Goliath and Ayanda Thabethe as team captains.

Anele Mdoda will be the presenter of the 10-episode game show, Celebrity Game Night on E! (DStv 124) that will start filming this week with comedian Jason Goliath and presenter Ayanda Thabethe as "team captains".

Celebrity Game Night as a local South African version of the American game show, Hollywood Game Night, with the first 10-episode season that will start filming this week in Johannesburg, South Africa and broadcast in late-2019 on the channel.

Anele Mdoda on Sunday finished her first stint as presenter of the third season of The Voice South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101).

Celebrity Game Night is distributed by NBCUniversal International Formats and produced by Rapid Blue. In each episode, 2 teams of celebrity African guests will face off as they play party games that test their pop culture knowledge, each with their own team captain.

"I'm so excited to host Celebrity Game Night on E! and can’t wait for viewers to join the party!," says Anele Mdoda in a supplied press release quote on Tuesday. "Hanging out with Jason, Ayanda and our top celebrity guests on my sofas is going to be hilariously wild. Let the games begin".

Jason Goliath in a quote attributed to him said "Be warned – this isn’t a typical game show. Joining Celebrity Game Night as a team captain and trying to wrangle a crowd of stars with Anele and Ayanda is going to be epically entertaining. My team is going to have plenty of laughs – but more importantly, we’re also going to win".

Ayanda Thabethe said "Celebrity Game Night is going to be the hottest A-list ticket in town. If you've ever wondered how the rich and famous let their hair down and have a good time, this is the show for you."

Lee Raftery, the managing director at NBCUniversal International for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA) and chief marketing officer, says "Anele Mdoda as host of Celebrity Game Night – with Jason Goliath and Ayanda Thabethe as team captains – is a winning combination".

"The chemistry of the three stars will resonate with participants and viewers alike, providing African viewers with a highly entertaining and high energy experience."

E! commissions new 10-episode show, Celebrity Game Night, produced by Rapid Blue, as its next localised African series; production starting July for broadcast in late-2019.

E! Entertainment (DStv 124) has commissioned Celebrity Game Night as a local South African version of the American game show, Hollywood Game Night, with the first 10-episode season that will start production in July and be broadcast on E! in late-2019.

Celebrity Game Night, produced by Rapid Blue, is NBCUniversal International Networks' latest local production in Africa, following The Search: E! Host Africa, How Do I Look? SA and sporadic red carpet coverage at events and awards shows like the Saftas and Samas.  

E! didn't announce a host or participants for Celebrity Game Night but confirmed that it will be a local South African TV presenter who will guide African celebrities through episodes' games.

Based on the format distributed by NBCUniversal International Formats, in each episode two teams of celebrity guests face-off against each other as they play hilarious and outrageous party games that test pop culture knowledge, acting skills and nerves.

"With outstanding success as an international format, Celebrity Game Night is perfectly placed as the latest local production for E! Africa," says Lee Raftery, the managing director for the UK and emerging markets and chief marketing & content officer at NBCUniversal International.

"I'm excited to bring local nuances to this fun, high-energy series, which will feature the best of African pop culture and celebrity."

"As we celebrate 15 years of E! in Africa, in partnership with DStv, and follow on from recent success with How Do I Look? South Africa, this commission demonstrates our continued commitment to creating impactful local content which reflects the market." 

On Thursday evening in Johannesburg E! will celebrate its 15th anniversary in Africa with a special celebration party for which it also chose winners for its first-ever E! Africa Pop Culture Awards with Trevor Noah, Black Coffee and Akin Omatoso who were already announced as category winners.